Thursday, October 3, 2013

Mr Bean tuk tuks and thousands of chooks!

Last
full day in Thailand and we thought we’d do a quick day trip to Ayutthaya.Train up to Victory Monument and then a
minibus (60baht each) to Ayutthaya – they go when full but we only waited about
10 minutes.

Ayutthaya
used to be the capital of Siam but is now practically an outer suburb of
Bangkok.Minibus took about 50 minutes
and the ‘mini-bus station’ is a plastic gazebo with a sign.Just down the street was a nice looking restaurant/guesthouse
called “Tony Place” so we got a quick coffee and checked the place out a
bit.We didn’t have much idea what to
expect, but even just driving into town we could see that this place was going
to need way more than just half a day.

Tuk
tuks are plentiful, but yet another design variation – these ones have a little
cabin the driver sits in and a steering wheel – and a rather Mr Bean-esque nose
cone.Negotiated with a driver for
200baht/hour (had checked trip advisor for rates) and he took us on a quick
spin to see a few temples.

We didn't get this groovy one but the driver was very proud of his shiny orange machine.

Most
of the temples are built of little bricks (about the size of a clay paver or
smaller) some obviously have been ‘rendered’ (which is now coming off) but the
layout at each site is quite clear.

Ayutthaya
had some flooding last week and the evidence was still ther for all to see –
water laying round where it obviously should not have been, sticks & other
debris banked up in path/wall corners etc and the ground quite soggy under foot.

Wat
Mahathat and Wat Rajaburana are side by side and quite similar.Plenty of trees to grab some respite from the
baking sun (it would be ferocious in March & April)

Wat
Phrasisanpethi was lovely – three huge chedis in the middle with throne and
ordination halls at either end.

Last
stop was Wat Yai Chaimongkhon still has a working monestary as well as
ruins.It’s grounds are beautiful and it
is one of the iconic Ayutthaya photo spots – 200 buddas sit along 4 sides of
the huge chedi, all sashed in gold.

Then
we found the chooks .. well roosters to be accurate .... hundreds of them in all
sizes from 15cm to 3m – lining a roadway near another building.No idea why but it was the funnies thing to
see.

I
know three hours in a town with as much to see as Ayutthaya is almost as
insulting as saying ‘go to Siem Reap for 3 hours’ but this tiny taste has put
this place firmly on our ‘must return and explore more’ list.

Back
to Tony’s place for a late lunch and an afternoon bus back to Bkk for some last
minute shopping.